Bears Headed To Europe

Aug 11, 2004

Aug. 11, 2004

The Brown men's soccer team, last year's Ivy League champion, will be facing some stout competition this preseason as the team will travel to Europe to take on five of the top reserve teams in the English and Scottish Premier League.
The Bears are set to leave Providence this Friday and will return on August 26th, eight days before their first regular season match. The team will first spend several days in Salzburg, Austria before its first match against Wacker Burghausen of the German Bundesliga on Tuesday, August 17th in Munich, Germany.
The following day, Brown will catch a plane bound for Glasgow, Scotland where it will play Hibernian of the Scottish Premier League on Thursday, August 19th at Easter Road Stadium in Edinburgh.
On Saturday, August 21st, the Bears will face Glasgow Celtic, also of the Scottish Premier League. Later that day the team will visit Ibrox Stadium to watch the Glasgow Rangers-Hibernian SPL match-up.
Brown's fourth game of the trip will be against Middlesbrough of the English Premier League on Tuesday, August 24th. The next day the Bears wrap up play against Everton, another English Premier League opponent.
Before departing Europe, Head Coach Mike Noonan's team will get the chance to watch two more exciting soccer showdowns, including Champion League Qualifier match between Liverpool and GAK of Austria at Anfield.
Brown's entire senior class consists of All-Ivy honorees, creating high expectations for the program once again this season. The Bears made their 20th appearance in the NCAA Tournament, finishing the 2003 season with a 10-4-3 overall record. Brown dominated its Ivy opponents, posting an undefeated mark of 6-0-1.
Seniors Jeff Larentowicz and Chris Gomez return for their final year and will serve as the team's captains. Both were chosen to the All-Ivy First Team as well as the All-New England First Team. Larentowicz was also named a Second Team All-American, capping off a brilliant season.
Brown will open up the season on Friday, Sept. 3rd at Boston College, followed by the seventh annual adidas-Brown Classic at Stevenson Field. The Bears will face Clemson on Friday Sept. 10th and San Francisco on Sunday, Sept. 12.